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Post by kiljaedenas on Mar 10, 2011 18:20:10 GMT -5
I've been considering trying out a second archetype in the game. I'm very used to my Behemoth that runs roughshod over all of the other archetypes in PvP, but I want a change in tactics. Specifically, a hit-and-run long range sniper, and from looking through the archetypes on the Wiki the Soldier and Marksman seem to be the best bet for this. However, I'm not sure which one to choose.
The Soldier looks like it does decent damage at long range, but it has pitiful defence and few stuns/hold moves. Looking at the Marksman it looks like it has a half-decent doge based defense and multiple AOE stuns and holds, but I don't know if it does as much damage as the Soldier.
Any opinions, anyone? Please keep in mind the following facts:
-I will choose Teleport as my first travel power -I want to stay between 90-100 feet away from my target as much as possible. -I want high damage output
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Post by Dewey on Mar 10, 2011 19:49:28 GMT -5
The Marksman can do very high single-hit/multi-target damage while (from my experience) the soldier deals high, maintained damage. In other words, the marksman is more of a spike damage while the soldier is more of a constant damage. The marksman also has an effective Health-on-Kill advantage/skill (can't remember which, my friend plays a marksman not me) that can be used on objects/destructibles.
All-in-all it's up to whichever fits your playstyle more. I played a soldier up to 22 and it can mow down several enemies very quickly, but if those enemies can survive the initial attack, you'll probably die. I assume the same holds true for the marksman but to a lesser effect.
E: I didn't mention The Inferno. I've never played an inferno, nor have any of my friends, but from what I've seen they deal incredible AoE damage at the cost of no survivability. If you're a big fan of "kill or be slaughtered" you should check out the inferno.
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Post by Kieran on Mar 10, 2011 20:26:17 GMT -5
The Marksman can do very high single-hit/multi-target damage while (from my experience) the soldier deals high, maintained damage. In other words, the marksman is more of a spike damage while the soldier is more of a constant damage. The marksman also has an effective Health-on-Kill advantage/skill (can't remember which, my friend plays a marksman not me) that can be used on objects/destructibles. All-in-all it's up to whichever fits your playstyle more. I played a soldier up to 22 and it can mow down several enemies very quickly, but if those enemies can survive the initial attack, you'll probably die. I assume the same holds true for the marksman but to a lesser effect. The Soldier and the Marksman are very similar to each other. Both deal significant damage from range, but as Dewey outlined, the Marksman is more burst damage while the Soldier is more maintained damage. Both have great alpha strikes (powers that are best used at the beginning of a fight for huge burst damage) and both gain energy with critical strikes. One thing to note is that the Soldier will probably score more crits because its doing a constant barrage of damage. One thing to be aware of is that the Soldier has no self-heal, while the Marksman can forgo R3 Quarry in favor of R2 Quarry with the Fair Game advantage, which gives you heath every time you make a kill. This can provide a fair amount of survivability for the Marksman, allowing you to make mistakes and recover from them, while the Soldier has to rely more on pure skill. However, all Archetypes would be hard pressed to achieve the Soldier's DPS output over the course of a sustained fight. With a boss, the Soldier will be the one taking out the largest chunk of health compared to the other members of his team. Even in solo play, though, the Soldier is well equipped on his own. If things get dicey, you can always drop a Smoke Grenade and retreat for a bit. Likewise, the Marksman has Evasive Maneuvers, which is also a great way to get out of trouble. Ultimately, both are great Archetypes that are fun to play - part of the choice comes down to personal playstyle, as Dewey said, but also due to theme. I rolled a Marksman over a Soldier not for the self-heal or any other such factor, but because the Marksman fitted my character concept better than the Soldier did. In a game that's all about making the hero(s) you've always wanted (to be), theme is a huge part. If you're idea of a hero is a bow-totting, justice-pursuing, Robin Hood-esk avenger, then the Marksman is perfect for you. On the other hand, if you wanna be like a gun-packing, barrels blazing, Comedian-esk hero of justice, then the Soldier is your best bet. E: I didn't mention The Inferno. I've never played an inferno, nor have any of my friends, but from what I've seen they deal incredible AoE damage at the cost of no survivability. If you're a big fan of "kill or be slaughtered" you should check out the inferno. And yeah, I'm not too sure about the Inferno, but its damage potential is supposed to be through the roof. As Dewey said, though, it is the epitome of a glass cannon, as you really cannot take much damage at all.
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Post by not1stepbackwards on Mar 10, 2011 23:51:10 GMT -5
I'm in a similar situation as OP, so I found this thread very useful. I'm mainly a Teleporting Behemoth and tried out a Teleporting Soldier, but was impressed by an Archer player recently. I played a soldier up to 22 and it can mow down several enemies very quickly, but if those enemies can survive the initial attack, you'll probably die. I assume the same holds true for the marksman but to a lesser effect. Obviously, I knew the Behemoth was more durable and the Soldier more damaging. Still, IMHO the fundamental strategy was to "make enemies die faster than me". The Behemoth does this by just toughing it out, whereas the Soldier could kill them so fast they were a threat no more...or so I thought. I had imagined the Soldier to be a Hit & Run type. My Soldier, so far, was not doing damage fast enough. That realisation came when I got the Targeting Computer power that boosts damage. It sounded great in theory, but when I used it, it takes 3 seconds (a long time in a fight) to take effect. Looking at this thread about spike vs sustained damage, I think the Marksman might have been what I wanted in the 1st place. I'm going to try that a little in parallel, do some side-by-side testing. Update - I played a Marksman, up to finishing off the Purple Gang's Kevin Poe. So far, it's been much significant easier using a Marksman than a Soldier. I didn't test out every detail, but the whole process just seems a lot faster with the Marksman.
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Post by kiljaedenas on Mar 11, 2011 19:25:11 GMT -5
The Marksman can do very high single-hit/multi-target damage while (from my experience) the soldier deals high, maintained damage. In other words, the marksman is more of a spike damage while the soldier is more of a constant damage. The marksman also has an effective Health-on-Kill advantage/skill (can't remember which, my friend plays a marksman not me) that can be used on objects/destructibles. I didn't mention The Inferno. I've never played an inferno, nor have any of my friends, but from what I've seen they deal incredible AoE damage at the cost of no survivability. If you're a big fan of "kill or be slaughtered" you should check out the inferno. And yeah, I'm not too sure about the Inferno, but its damage potential is supposed to be through the roof. As Dewey said, though, it is the epitome of a glass cannon, as you really cannot take much damage at all. Virtually all of the Inferno's heavy damage attacks have at most a 50 foot range, which breaks the "long range" aspect I was looking for.
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